The Amazon Tap ($129.99) is a portable speaker that streams music and the Echo Dot ($89.99) is a hockey puck-shaped device that connects to and controls smart appliances. These new releases are part of Amazon's effort to position itself in the smart home market, which allows consumer to control everything from the thermostat to their refrigerators.

The connected home appliance market in the United States is expected to grow at an impressive CAGR of 98.35% between 2015 and 2019. According to the report, increasing smartphone data usage is expected to immensely contribute to the effective remote monitoring and controlling of the smart home appliances, and drive the connected home appliance market during the forecast period. The report also highlights programmable thermostats as a key area, with the shipment of these devices rapidly increasing in the US.

A report on the world smart home appliance market predicts revenue of $38.35 billion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 16.6% during the forecast period. It says the smart home appliances market is expected to witness significant growth during the analysis period, owing to the technological advancement in electronics and communication sectors and the growing need of energy efficiency.

Amazon previously opened up its digital assistant Alexa to third party developers, in the hope they would craft new voice-powered capabilities for Echo. It added hundreds of new features, as a result, including access to music streaming service Spotify and integration with smart lights made by Phillips.

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